NBC STATION REFUSES TO AIR THE PLAYBOY CLUB

NBC’s upcoming new drama The Playboy Club may not feature any of the soft porn presented in Hugh Hefner’s legendary magazine. Indeed, it may not be any racier than any number of crime dramas airing on network television. (It’s set in Hefner’s Chicago night club during the 1960s.) But a Salt Lake City television station, an NBC affiliate owned by the Mormon Church, announced on Monday that it will not air the show, regardless of its content. “The Playboy brand is known internationally,” KSL President and CEO Mark Willes said in a statement. “Everyone is clear what it stands for. We want to be sure everyone is clear what the KSL brand stands for, which is completely inconsistent with the Playboy brand.” NBC said that it will look for another station in the area to carry it.